TGS 2010

Latest TGS 2010 Highlights

See more highlights »

Demon's Souls developer's next action-RPG goes multiplatform

Brendan Sinclair
By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

TGS 2010: Namco Bandai publishing the tentatively titled Project Dark on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 in 2011; details promised early next year.

Prolific developer From Software is perhaps best known for its mech combat franchise Armored Core and last year's action role-playing game Demon's Souls, winner of GameSpot's 2009 Game of the Year award. This year's Tokyo Game Show has been a busy one for the developer, as new From Software games in both those genres were announced, though neither of them bears the names of those series.

Project Dark will need to escape the sizable shadow of Demon's Souls (pictured).

Project Dark will need to escape the sizable shadow of Demon's Souls (pictured).

Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled From Software's Xbox 360 Kinect-enabled Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, a new entry in Capcom's already established mech series. That was followed up with From Software and Namco Bandai Games today announcing Project Dark (working title), a new action role-playing game set for launch next year.

Namco Bandai said the dungeon-crawling game will feature some new networking features, but details will have to wait until early next year. Demon's Souls' online features were particularly novel, as the game allowed players to journey into other players' games to help or hunt each other but included no chat functions. Instead, players could only communicate through gestures and short, preset messages that could be left throughout levels.

Project Dark is set for release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 internationally. However, the official site indicates that it is only set for Sony's system in the developer's home country of Japan.

Demon's Souls may be From Software's biggest title of late, but it is far from the only one. Not all of its titles have made it to the West, but the list of ones that did includes the King's Field series of first-person RPGs, Ninja Blade, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Armored Core, Chromehounds, Otogi, Lost Kingdoms, Enchanted Arms, and Tenchu: Shadow Assault.

Brendan Sinclair
By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.

114 Comments

  • zeroflame33

    Posted Jan 23, 2011 2:29 pm GMT

    Thats ok with me if they put some effort and all version are the same.(which let me doubt )

  • shooters125

    Posted Oct 7, 2010 12:57 pm GMT

    Awesme. To be honest xbox 360 has better online (its true I admit) and Demon' Souls was just great online. Fanboys dont bash this. It's multiplatform so no1 should have anything to brag about. They also dont have anything to complain about (unless ur a troll and relish in the fact that u have exclusives even tho its pointless). Rejoice to all!

  • DBZKING1234 posted Sep 28, 2010 3:43 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    DBZKING1234

    Posted Sep 28, 2010 3:43 pm GMT (hide)

    Oh that's great. The PS3 is just losing exclusives.

  • treepop99

    Posted Sep 23, 2010 2:04 pm GMT

    It makes me so sad it is going multi platform. I would like to bet that this game wont be ANYWHERE near as good as the first one. What a depressing shame.

  • skillyywillyy

    Posted Sep 23, 2010 11:12 am GMT

    unbelievable travel through an eerie world, unforgettable battle scenes, strategic trials and errors that put extreme euphoria in ur decision making when it comes to living or dying. time consuming that u will find time for. Beware u may be late for work during this journey. But its worth the #$%* u hear from ur boss or family members. its a mind trip, all u have to do is sit in front of the screen.

  • woper93

    Posted Sep 22, 2010 11:47 am GMT

    @gambit001 well, it CAN have a 4 player co-op if a black phantom invades you and the 4 players start to kick the s**t out of the enemy's in the stage. and hurry up cause they're closing servers un march of 2011 so buy it already

  • lowkey254

    Posted Sep 20, 2010 5:51 pm GMT

    That's cool and all but I want to see a DS2, in a different themed kingdom/empire.

  • gambit001

    Posted Sep 20, 2010 2:37 pm GMT

    Hmmm... I find strange, and completely difficult to believe, to see a comment on here from someone who allegedly is on NG+++++ but actually states as a correction that the game does not have 4 player co-op, but 3 player co-op... ever actually played? I would like to think that someone with your "extensive" experience with this title would have allowed you to play 4 player... Or at the least read the box? Just because a game presents a brand new way of playing co-op or versus that is different than the way you may prefer, it does not change that it does, in fact, offer both of these options as a method of play, in addition to one of the best Action RPG experiences I have had in 20+ years of playing RPGs. Hope this new game is just as good; I have no issue with a brand new IP, so long as it can provide an experience that is just as immensely rewarding as DS did.

  • Ladiesman17

    Posted Sep 19, 2010 9:26 am GMT

    for PC please!! I'll pay for collector edition.

  • SpedKnight

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 8:31 pm GMT

    lucky xbox.

  • grove12345

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 6:10 pm GMT

    I liked Demons Souls ALOTTTT, but i felt that it needed a few tweaks and enviromental changes to make it THEE epic RPG experience im looking for. So im glad theres no DS 2 b/c im pretty sure it would of been a clone... which is fine. But i want to play my ideal RPG.

    BTW i think more RPGs developers need to learn from the combat system in DS.

  • jad206 posted Sep 18, 2010 3:33 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    jad206

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 3:33 pm GMT (hide)

    @360hammer co-op on Demon's Soul's is cheap and feels like they got lazy in the making of it. No matter if it has it or not, it isn't how any other game does Co-op. It is still fun, but I doubt Xbox fans will like it.
    And I didn't change the subject, I am sorry if you low education doesn't help you understand the importance of spelling.

  • 360hammer

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 3:09 pm GMT

    @jad206

    Nice, it still has co - op buddy. I didn't realize co-op had been defined by " the xbox does it" but the game is not on xbox now is it? All my gramatticalllll errorrrsss won't change the fact the game has co - op and you being the expert on Demon's Souls want to deny a fact and change subject to my spaulling eerorrssss LMAO

  • jad206

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 2:23 pm GMT

    @360hammer Also on that point, it isn't 4 player co-op, it is 3 player co-op.

  • jad206

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 2:20 pm GMT

    @360hammer You just don't get it, and have spelling problems. One no one on Xbox will buy it for Co-op if they keep it the same way. I have played this game since it came out with text chat, doesn't mean I should HAVE too. I bought a mic for a reason.

  • dark-warmachine

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 12:49 pm GMT

    It was inevitable. This title sold pretty decent for a hardcore title; too bad we can't say the same for that garbage Ninja Blade game made by this same dev..

  • 360hammer

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 12:32 pm GMT

    @jad206

    Clearly it is co-op, no voice chat but it is co-op. Get some friends, learn how to use the text party chat. I don't care how many +++++++ you want to give yourself. It's 4 player co-op dousche.

  • Zaalin

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 10:44 am GMT

    The announcement of Project: Dark basically topped any news about any other game-related item this year. I'm incredibly stoked for this.

    As for it being multi-platfrom, I'm all for it. I am most definitely a PS3 fan, but the more people who get to experience good games, on whatever system they want, the better. The only comment I have to make about it getting released for Xbox360 is that I don't think it's going to do very well sales-wise. The Xbox owners in my area don't seem to like anything but shooters. Probably less than 1 in 30 Xbox owners will pick this up in my town, where as it'll be sold out for PS3 :S

    -Z-

  • steelmouth

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 6:26 am GMT

    @nemesis4x mass effect kicked my ass, i forgot the name but some female supreme commander somthing was just too much for me, every time i manage to kill her (by luck) she comes back with full life, but yeah rpg have proven to be cool i missed out over the years

  • nemesis4x

    Posted Sep 18, 2010 5:31 am GMT

    @steelmouth yeah me too i recently got into rpgs after playing mass effect, and i started to play dragon age